Nagasaki Marks 80 Years Since Atomic Bombing; Taiwan Attends Ceremony for 1st Time

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:48 JST, August 9, 2025

NAGASAKI — Survivors and the families of the diseased paid tribute to the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki during the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on Saturday, the 80th anniversary.

More than 4,000 people, also including Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and ambassadors and other representatives from 94 countries and regions, attended the ceremony held at the Nagasaki Peace Park in the city.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki spoke about conflicts occurring around the world and expressed a sense of crisis, saying in the Nagasaki Peace Declaration, “If we continue on this trajectory, we will end up thrusting ourselves into a nuclear war.” Suzuki himself is a second-generation hibakusha atomic bomb survivor.

“In order to make Nagasaki the last atomic-bombed city, it is essential to show a specific course of action for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons,” the mayor added.

Ambassadors from countries and regions that did not attend last year’s ceremony due to Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel amid its attacks on Gaza — including nuclear powers the United States and the United Kingdom — were in attendance this year. Israel attended this year’s ceremony.

Russia, which continues its aggression against Ukraine, and its ally Belarus attended the ceremony for the first time in four years.

Taiwan participated in the event for the first time. However, China and Ukraine, which typically attend the ceremony, were absent.

At 11:02 a.m., the time the atomic bomb exploded, the Bell of Nagasaki in the park was rung, and participants offered silent prayers to pay tribute to the victims.

In his declaration, Suzuki talked about the late Senji Yamaguchi, who in 1982 became the first hibakusha to address the U.N. General Assembly, and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations).

“Though the power of one person alone may be weak, if it will lead to great force to open a path to the future,” Suzuki said.

Suzuki’s peace declaration was followed by the “Pledge for Peace” read by Hiroshi Nishioka, who was representing the survivors. At 93 years old, Nishioka was the oldest hibakusha to make the pledge.

In his address, Ishiba said: “We must pass down the memories of what unfolded here in Japan 80 years ago — the reality and the tragedy of war, and the brutal impact of the harm wrought by the atomic bombings. We must not allow those memories to fade away under any circumstances.”

Ishiba also quoted the late Takashi Nagai, a doctor and survivor of the bombing who devoted himself to treatment of other A-bomb sufferers in the city. “The devastation that occurred in Nagasaki and Hiroshima must never be repeated,” he said.

At the ceremony, three notebooks containing the names of 3,167 people who were exposed to the atomic bombing and were confirmed to have died in the year through the end of July were dedicated. The number those who have died after being exposed to the atomic bombings stands at 201,942.